San Bernardino voters, where were you? Opinion

Less than 15 percent of the city’s registered voters found time to cast a ballot in the most important election in a decade, a pathetic statement on civic engagement in bankrupt San Bernardino.

Throughout the election, mayoral candidate and former Councilwoman Wendy McCammack drove home the point that San Bernardino’s success depends on getting as many people as possible involved in civic affairs.

The statistics are worth noting: Some 11,000 of the city’s 77,000-plus voters made it to the polls Tuesday or cast a ballot by mail. Yet San Bernardino is home to more than 200,000 people.

Where were they Tuesday? Why didn’t they step up to cast a vote for mayor, the man or woman who will lead San Bernardino through its current fiscal crisis and, hopefully, to a brighter future?

The majority of those who did make it to the polls supported Carey Davis for mayor, and it will be up to him and the rest of the city’s elected officials to connect with community members and engage them — that’s the only way to ensure San Bernardino’s revival.